Sunday, March 28, 2004

Jelly's Last Jam?

Iranian scientists hoping to stop the spread of the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi in the Caspian Sea by introducing more of another invader. As reported by the Boston Globe, the comb jellyfish, native to the east coast of the U.S. (how much of it I'm not sure!), were introduced to the Black Sea about twenty years ago. Since then, they have devasted fisheries by devouring eggs, larvae, and plankton, and have now set their sights on the Caspian Sea. In hopes of preventing serious damage, the scientists will be releasing specially bred populations of the jellyfishes' native predator, Beroe ovata (also a comb jellyfish). Bonus points to the Globe for using scientific names.